Dental Coverage for Families in Kankakee County
Kankakee County sits south of the Chicago metro, with manufacturing and agriculture as the primary industries — many residents commute to Chicago while others work locally and buy dental coverage on their own.
Families buy dental coverage for two different groups: children and adults. Health insurance and dental insurance are separate purchases for most adults, because adult dental isn’t an ACA essential health benefit. In Kankakee County that means choosing a health plan on Get Covered Illinois first and treating adult dental as its own purchase.
What Family Dental Plans Cover in Kankakee County
Family plans put everyone on one policy but keep the benefits per person. On SecureDental PLUS, for example, each person has a $50 deductible, capped at $150 for the family, and cleanings and exams are covered in-network without it.
Braces are the most common surprise. On SecureDental PLUS they’re covered only on the Premium tier, at 70%, with a 12-month waiting period, a $500 yearly limit and a $1,500 lifetime limit, and many other plans don’t cover them at all.
Enrolling Your Family in Dental Coverage in Illinois
In Illinois the Marketplace is Get Covered Illinois, which offers dental plans next to its health plans during Open Enrollment and special enrollment periods. A stand-alone dental plan bought outside the Marketplace can start in any month, usually on the first of the following month. Enter your ZIP code in the form below and Daniel will send you the dental plans available where you live.
Waiting periods are the catch. On SecureDental PLUS, cleanings are covered right away, fillings after 1 month, and crowns, bridges and orthodontia after 12 months, and HealthCare.gov warns that separate dental plans in general can have waiting periods for adults.
A dental plan pays dentists, not emergency rooms. If a tooth infection or a facial injury takes you to an emergency department, that bill goes to your health insurance. Medicare’s hospital directory lists 2 hospitals with emergency services in Kankakee County, including Presence St. Marys Hospital and Riverside Medical Center.
Keep the category straight: dental insurance is an excepted benefit, not minimum essential coverage, so it sits alongside a health plan rather than replacing one.
Call (713) 575-9904 and Daniel will price the dental plans available at your Kankakee County ZIP code and check the network for your family.